An eventful week

It can be pretty difficult to have it all together all the time. Maybe not all together, but you know, figured out. What kind of job you’ll do, where you’ll live, with whom you’ll spend the rest of your life, whether you’ll have children, all of that.

It can also be quite overwhelming to be around other people and going on adventures all the time. Especially for an introvert like me, who’s used to structure, routines and enjoys being by herself a lot. Which, I know, sounds kinda odd for someone who also loves seeking out adventure and and the unknown, meeting new people along the way. We are creatures of contradiction, I guess. And I am definitely a perfect example of that.

Okay, this is starting to sound a bit sappy, and maybe this is a good time to set the scene:

I checked into a teeny tiny room in a hostel in Melbourne today. A private room with a single bed and a desk. Sometimes I just need to get away from the crowd and be on my own for a little bit to do some good old ‘eating while watching a movie in bed’ time. I never really know what my energy and sense of inspiration will be like in moments like these, but I learnt not to expect too much from myself when I’m distancing myself from the world. To just be.

Last week was a whirlwind of a lot of adventures.

I flew from Melbourne to Canberra to meet up with an old friend and his fiancée. We spent a lot of time together and drove to the coast to spend 2 nights in my friend’s parent’s magical bed & breakfast. Honest to God: this is quite easily the most beautiful accommodation I’ve ever stayed at. The details were so well thought off and the hosts were lovely. The area we were staying in was surrounded by amazing, stretched out, quiet beaches and a beautiful green scenery. After those 2 nights, we drove back to Canberra and had a nice ‘barbie’ in the backyard and my friends were very sweet to let me sleep on their couch for the night.

The next day I flew back to Melbourne (and just FYI, this was a flight straight from hell, no offense to the airline, but that was the rockiest road I’ve ever flown to the point where passengers got handed tissues to clean up their sick) where I got picked up by my other friend. She is the friend I stayed with for a few days right after I arrived in Melbourne. A hometown friend of hers arrived in Melbourne right after I went to Canberra and the three of us went on a road trip to the Great Ocean Road, a place in Australia that has been on my bucket list for quite some time.

We had a great time cruising down the coast and since we didn’t have anything booked yet, we could just wing it along the way. We ended up staying in the Lorne Coachman Inn, a poorly rated motel just outside of Lorne and aside from the cockroach in the shower, we had a lovely time. We were surrounded cockatoos and ate one scoop ice creams the size of my face. I honestly don’t need a lot more to be entertained.

The next day was a bit greyish, but we wouldn’t let a bit of bad weather bother us. My friend, who was so nice to drive the whole entire time, was suffering from a stomach bug which meant we didn’t just see all the landmarks along the coast, but also all the official (and unofficial) bathrooms along the way.

We spent the night in Bimbi Park, an extremely remote camping site (with no connection to the world whatsoever) known for the wild koalas literally just hanging out. We only discovered the next day, when we were back in the land of the WIFI, that the horrific noise we heard throughout the night and we thought was produced by a screaming pig, was the sound koalas make to communicate their so called “desire to love” to each other.

The next day we drove past all the beautiful landmarks between the Twelve Apostles and Bay of Islands and decided to cut the trip one night short and head home that same night. We were fed some delicious noodles by my friend’s boyfriend, did a load of washing and watched MAFS (Married at first sight), which to my deepest regret, is very addicting TV.

That was it for the past week.

Bear in mind, that for an introvert like me, who also took and enjoyed her moments of silence and solitude on both trips, this all was equally fun and tiresome. For someone who needs more alone time than not to charge her (social) battery, weeks like these can be quite challenging. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed every last second of it, but it was also exhausting.

I didn’t even think I had it in me to be creative and write a blog. I’m glad I found the inspiration in the magnificent sunset I saw from the tiny window of my teeny weenie room right after I decided it wasn’t too early to go to bed at 8 PM.

The point I was trying to make from the thoughts in the intro was basically this one: I have no exact plan for my present and future yet. What I did manage to do today was to confirm another housesitting gig in New Zealand for my trip coming up in May/June, I met someone to take me on a hiking adventure the next couple of days and looked at some Airbnb options for next week when I am basically ‘homeless’ or what I like to call a true nomad for a few days.

And if you think I’m not organised about all of this, I really am.

Spreadsheets with exact and estimated expenses, accommodation options, and everything.

I got this.

I just need to get my thoughts out of my head and on a piece of paper sometimes.

And now it’s time to wrap up reflecting and start to relax and prepare for the next adventure.

Bye bye, all.

Xoxo Domi